Our final Composer Spotlight features MCI composer Duncan Petersen-Jones's Bac'd​, a new work for saxophone quartet exploring the intricacies of an inherently musical idea. The composer writes:

"Bac'd started off as an experiment, to see what I could do with only 4 notes. After starting with this, I continued to write it out until I felt the piece was fully written. With having only a limited number of pitches, I had to rely on rhythm, motives, and the interactions between the pitches to add variety. It was definitely a challenge to keep the piece interesting with these limitations, but I felt that I overcame this through having different implied pitch centers and through the interactions between the quartet. Throughout composing this piece, I was very tempted to include additional pitches, but ultimately forced myself to only use these four, which is something that I'm glad I did in the end."

Bac'd received its world premiere this year at the University of Michigan. It will be performed at our collaborative concert with the Zenith Saxophone Quartet this Sunday, October 14th at Central Michigan University, which will also include several world premieres composed by MCI members.
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Our collaborative concert in October with the Zenith Saxophone Quartet opens with a premiere by MCI composer Kevin Day entitled Converging Spectrums, a multi-movement work whose first movement will be performed. This piece is an exploration of various different concepts that the composer elaborates in greater detail below:

The program for our collaborative concert this October with the Zenith Saxophone Quartet includes a piece that introduces another element to the stage - performers interacting with electronic music. Composer Josh Trentadue's Bread and Circuses incorporates a fixed media track that accompanies the quartet, creating a soundscape that's altogether unique to each  performance. Read on as Trentadue divulges more about how these elements, and many others, helped shape this brand-new piece:

Often, we find that our influences and personal experiences help to define how we individually perceive and experience listening to music. Such is the case with composer Casey Thomas's Missoula, his new work for the Zenith Saxophone Quartet premiering this October on our first collaborative concert of the year. Thomas's quartet is an exploration of his personal experiences attending the funeral of composer David Maslanka in 2017. Read on to learn more about Thomas's new work for saxophone quartet:

Of all the pieces included in our collaborative concert with the Zenith Saxophone Quartet this October, this one is perhaps the most improvisational of the program to be premiered. Composer Jordan VanHemert's background as a jazz musician is at full force with his new work Into the Darkness, testing the limitations and creative freedom of both the saxophone quartet and the music they are given. Read on to discover VanHemert's conceptualization of this exciting new work:

This academic year, the Millennium Composers Initiative will be co-hosting two collaborative concerts with two different chamber groups. The members of the initiative are given the opportunity to compose a brand-new work for the performers and participate in rehearsals leading up to the concert performance.

The first concert of the year consists of entirely new music performed by the much-lauded Zenith Saxophone Quartet, including multiple world premieres of music by MCI composers. The event will take place on Sunday, October 14th at Chamichian Recital Hall in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The concert is generously co-hosted by the Zenith Saxophone Quartet and the Central Michigan University School of Music.

Starting this week, we will be introducing the music that will be featured on the program, including some insight by our composers as to how each of the pieces came to be. First up is Burning Away by Isaac Mayhew, a brand-new piece for saxophone quartet that is as personal as it is emotional.

On March 26, 2018, the world premiere of Duncan Petersen Jones's Devastation Deconstruction by the Vanguard Reed Quintet will be taking place at the University of Michigan. Scored for reed quintet (consisting of oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, and bassoon), the premiere is part of an ongoing collaboration concert series between the university's student composers and chamber groups.
We had the opportunity to speak with Petersen-Jones last weekend to learn more about his brand-new chamber work. You can read our full interview with him below:

On Saturday, March 17th, the world premiere of a brand-new work by composer Josh Trentadue will be taking place at the Michigan State University College of Music. Concerto for Double Bass features the virtuosity and wide artistic range of Matthew Gibson, a doctoral student at MSU who commissioned the piece and is also hosting the concert where the premiere will be taking place. Trentadue will be in attendance for the premiere, which will see the piano reduction of the concerto come to life.

We've had the opportunity to sit down and speak with him about this new concerto. Here is our full interview with him about this exciting new work: